Baronial Hall (site of)

The Baronial Hall was a tower which stood within the Gorbals when it was part of the Govan ward of the Barony of Glasgow, but it was demolished in 1870 and nothing of it now remains.

Originally church land, by 1512 it had been leased to the merchant George Elphinstone. His grandson, George Elphinston, extended the tower to form a C-plan mansion around a courtyard in the late 16th century.

Elphinston accrued debts and in 1634 sold the estate to Robert Douglas, 1st Viscount Belhaven. Upon his death with no male heirs in 1639 the property passed to his nephew, Sir Robert Douglas of Blackerstone, who in 1650 transferred the estate to the City.

The tower was later used as a jail and town hall. In 1849 the upper storeys were removed and in 1870 it was demolished as part of local redevelopments. The site is now occupied by a library.